A very good day and a well executed victory by England. Morgan's innings was masterful and I particularly enjoyed watching Maxwell's innings and spectacular catch, which happened right in front of where we were sitting. It was a challenging (Stag) day which started with a Weatherspoon's breakfast and a pint at 09:30 and ended in a hotel bar with a double Talisker at 23:30. I'm getting to old for this.

This was my first visit to Headingley and I suspect that the tribal chant of Y-o-o-o-rkshir' Y-o-o-o-rkshir' Y-o-o-o-rkshir' Y-o-o-o-rkshir' will be difficult to remove from my head, as will the image of a wizened old chap with bandy legs dressed as Snow White.

LGTrotter wrote:Not Hales, but maybe not Mo either. How does tiny Taylor strike anyone as an opener?

He would have the great advantage that he would be impossible to york since he is already so close to the ground. He'd also be able to leave anything over shoulder height knowing that he's barely taller than the stumps.

I did see a great picture from one of the one day games when Finn was walking with his arm round Taylor's shoulders. Quite a comical pair.

In that vein, I have a photo of Stuart Broad standing next to Matt Prior at Belfast City Airport the day after a slightly 'humiliating victory' against Ireland (you know what I mean by that phrase). A comical pair indeed.

AHB wrote:Is it just me, or is it weird to be playing test cricket in the UAE in front of empty stands? About as much atmosphere as a county game in May.

Maybe safer than playing in Pakistan though. I speak as one who thoroughly enjoyed watching England in Lahore a few years back; but then a couple of years later the tour bus got fired on at the roundabout outside the stadium. Chris Broad was extremely lucky to survive. Others were not so fortunate.

AHB wrote:Is it just me, or is it weird to be playing test cricket in the UAE in front of empty stands? About as much atmosphere as a county game in May.

Maybe safer than playing in Pakistan though. I speak as one who thoroughly enjoyed watching England in Lahore a few years back; but then a couple of years later the tour bus got fired on at the roundabout outside the stadium. Chris Broad was extremely lucky to survive. Others were not so fortunate.

That's all fair, but there are plenty of countries where cricket is actually played that could be used as an alternative "home" venue and ensure there was some sort of atmosphere.